The US demonstrated recognition of Lukashenko
The US Senate unanimously approved the day before the candidacy of Julie Fisher for the post of new ambassador to Belarus.
Fisher’s appointment was not affected by the change of presidents: her candidacy was also nominated by Donald Trump.
“This means that Julie Fisher will arrive in the country quite soon, most likely in late January or early February. That is, the United States will formally demonstrate recognition of Lukashenko.
Theoretically, Democrats could block or try to slow down the process. Moreover, during the presidential race Biden was more harsh in his assessment of the Belarusian situation. But that did not happen. It’s an interesting situation, especially against the backdrop of heightened expectations from the Biden administration and the strengthening of the Democrats,” Belarusian political scientist Igor Tyshkevich, who fled to Ukraine, commented on the appointment in his Telegram channel.
He believes that the United States will delegate harsh rhetoric and criticism of the Belarusian authorities to Poland and Lithuania, while they themselves will pursue a softer policy, the strategic goal of which is to counter the interests of Russia and China in the region.
Fisher worked in the US embassies in Tbilisi under President Saakashvili and in Kyiv under President Yushchenko. She was Chargé d'Affaires of the United States in Russia.
Reports about Fisher's possible appointment as ambassador to Belarus appeared in the American media in February immediately after the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Minsk. Apparently, he agreed on this candidacy with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
The restoration of diplomatic representation between the United States and Belarus at the ambassadorial level was announced back in September 2019.
Minsk recalled its ambassador to America in 2008 after the United States imposed sanctions against Belarus in response to Minsk’s refusal to release oppositionist and ex-presidential candidate Alexander Kazulin from the colony. At the same time, the head of the American diplomatic mission in Belarus, Karen Stewart, was asked to leave the country.
In April 2019, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei officially informed the US State Department George Kent about the lifting of restrictions on the number of embassy employees in Minsk.
As Freedom House representative Sofia Orloski said, expanding the staff of the American embassy in Minsk will allow increasing financial assistance to non-governmental organizations working against the Belarusian authorities and the idea of integration with Russia.
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